


Tales From Dragon's Keep

by lastoftheorder



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Dragon Keep Au, F/F, M/M, Magic, One-Sided Relationship, Swordfighting, past Athena/Fiona
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2020-10-13 20:29:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20588630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lastoftheorder/pseuds/lastoftheorder
Summary: A loose retelling of Tales From the Borderlands if it occurred in the same world as Tiny Tina's Dragon's Keep.Rhys and Fiona, along with several other friends and allies, travel to find the Mysterious Dragon's Vault in hopes of finding fame and fortune. Of course, nothing ever works out so smoothly.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This has been a work in progress for a while, and I wanted to make sure I had a healthy backlog before I began this. Rest assured there's tons of magic and mayhem to be found. 
> 
> Beta'd by the fabulous DualDreamer. If you enjoy my work be sure to check out some of hers at https://archiveofourown.org/users/DualDreamer/pseuds/DualDreamer
> 
> Thanks for taking a look, and enjoy the ride!

“They can’t do this to me!” Rhys wailed. Vaughn stared at the offending note which brought his friend so much distress: a plain piece of paper with elegant cursive letters, declaring that Rhys was being assigned to ‘Crypt Duty’ for the next few weeks.

“Apparently they can,” Vaughn said. Everyone hated that place; it was creepy and smelled like decay, but thanks to Vasquez, Rhys was forced to work down there. Something about ‘revisiting the basics’ to make him a better necromancer.

What a load of crap.

Rhys was an excellent necromancer and could reanimate bodies, but here he was being shoved down into the Crypts to work on dusty old bones and turn them into disposable grunts for the defence of Dragon’s Keep. 

“I’ve been loyal! And I do good work! Not to mention the other day Henderson said I had a lot of latent ability,” Rhys said. Vaughn nodded. 

“Of course, bro. You’ll show them; you’ll be the best Crypt worker there is. Besides-” His eyes lit up “I hear the Handsome Sorcerer's body is kept down there.” 

“Yeah, but there are so many spells and locks on it. I don’t think I‘ll even be able to find it without a seer stone.” Rhys huffed. 

“You never know,” Vaughn offered with a shrug, “besides, at least you’ll be close to him!” 

“Thanks, Vaughn,” Rhys gave him a half smile for his attempt to cheer him up. His situation didn’t seem so hopeless anymore. ”Maybe this won’t be so bad.” 

A few hours later and Rhys realized that, yes, it was that bad. He was sifting through piles of shattered bones which had been ripped apart by careless adventurers, pouring in his magical energy on reanimating the remains of some poor sap (or perhaps several, who could tell with all their bones mixed together?), coughing up dust. He prayed that his allergies wouldn’t act up. How long had it been since someone had gone through this room? 

It was also eerie and creepy down there. Rhys might have been a practicing Necromancer, but even this creeped him out. Giant spiders skittered around in the corner of his eye, and he narrowly avoided several acid traps on his way here. The only light he had were torches casting a weak glow with their unearthly flames. To make things worse, these crypts were also terrifying mazes one could easily get lost in. Maybe Vasquez was hoping he would die down here. 

Rhys grumbled as he cast a spell on the skull in his hand. It was supposed to make the rest of the bones come out of the pit and connect to it, however as he sent in his magic, the skull began to twitch and tremble, snapping its jaws at Rhys. With a shout he dropped it before the nasty thing could bite him and the skull began rolling on the floor towards the hallway. It came to a stop several feet away, lying still once more.

Rhys ran a hand through his hair, cursing when the thoughtless action kicked up dust and smudged the skull. That was certainly odd; normally his spells went smoother than that. He walked over to the skull to pick it up once more and just when he was only a step away, it began to roll away from him again. Rhys frowned and wondered for a moment if he should follow after it, but given the mind numbingly boring task at hand, he honestly didn’t mind a bit of a distraction even if it was likely a bad idea. He could already hear Vaughn giving him a stern lecture about going after shady, autonomously moving objects and silently apologized in advance.

For a while, Rhys just followed the skull. Every time he got too close to it, the skull would quickly roll out of reach. After a while it finally came to a stop and Rhys was able to pick it up without it twitching or trying to escape. 

“What was that all about?” he asked himself, dusting off some of the cobwebs that had gathered on the skull, glancing at the area around him. The anticlimactic end to this journey was a slight disappointment. If only it could have pointed him the path to its body! Or even a long lost treasure. But no, it was just the dead mocking him, even from their grave. 

“Now, let’s hope I can find my way back.” he grumbled.

Rhys turned around, still focused on cleaning off the skull and looked up only to find that before him was nothing but darkness. All of the lights had blown out and Rhys felt a chill. The torches down here were all magical and designed to never burn out, yet here he was. Alarmed, he took a step back. This had to be some sort of prank, starting with the rolling skull and now the torches. 

“Haha, very funny,” he said, cautiously inching towards the light behind him once more, and grabbed one of the still lit torches, carefully, almost afraid that it might flicker any moment as well. A prank was not going to stop him from doing his job. With his determination and sight restored, he made his second attempt to head back when a sudden gust of wind came through and blew everything out all at once, including his torch. He was plunged into total darkness. 

Rhys put his hand against the wall and went by touch leading him onward. The stones of the crypt were cold and rough against his hands, and he knew he was pulling up layers of grime, but walking on his own was too high of a risk. With a bit of luck he would not trigger any traps by accident.

He tried to cast a few mage light spells but they quickly winked out. Rhys groaned in frustration. Whoever was doing this to him was going to pay. 

While blindly groping around he suddenly felt something different than the texture of stone. The surface he was touching was something cool and smooth, and he ran his fingers over it, tracing along the meticulously engraved details. His fingers caught on the edge and relief flooded through him as he realized that it was a door. He pried at the edge until it gave in and cracked open. A watery light was spilling from inside and it might have been the desperation talking but Rhys swore he never saw anything more beautiful in his life. Quickly he opened it up the rest of the way and froze.

The room beyond the door was large, decorated with large tapestries around the edges and a single carved stone sarcophagus placed in the center of the room, raised up on a stone platform. The torches around the wall cast dancing shadows around the room and gave just enough light to see what was etched onto the tapestries, and their sight was so familiar to Rhys he could have described them in his sleep. Each one depicted a monumental feat that the Handsome Sorcerer had done. Taming the great dragon, raising the immortal army, crushing the kingdom of New Haven. Rhys swallowed thickly. Had he found it? The Handsome Sorcerer’s crypt? 

On top of the sarcophagus lay a lone staff and Rhys’ eyes widened. Was this the staff?

...He had to touch it. 

It was like a trance came over him as Rhys moved towards the sarcophagus and his feet shuffled up the stairs onto the raised platform, slowly and carefully, drawn by the softer light coming from the staff’s glittering stone ornaments. 

Rhys stood in front of it, gazing in awe at both the beautiful artifact and the lid of the stone sarcophagus beneath it, covering the remains of his hero. The Handsome Sorcerer’s staff was a masterfully carved piece of wood inlaid with those bright blue gems and winding silver runes, giving off a faint glow. Rumors had it that this was one of the most powerful staffs in the world and held some of the Sorcerer’s magic within. 

If Rhys could just taste its power! It held within it anything he could ever want. Unbidden, he reached out his right hand and took hold of the staff, lifting it from the lid.

For a moment, nothing happened. 

Then suddenly a blue light erupted as the stones in it shattered, the silver runes disappeared from the shaft and instead swirled around. For the third time this day, all the torches in the room blew out and Rhys was engulfed in only the blue light. Distantly the sounds of familiar, cold laughter echoed in his ears.

As soon as it started, Rhys found himself in complete darkness once more and a sudden dizziness overcame his senses. While the cackling steadily filled his head and threatened to split it in half, he collapsed to the ground and passed out. 

When Rhys came to, he awakened in the same chamber as before, although it was a bit different. The tapestries no longer held the intricate images they once did, instead they were littered with faded, moth eaten insignias, and the torches bobbed around, casting a cheery glow. Rhys sat up sharply and found himself in the spot where the sarcophagus once had been. He gave a groan, wondering if he had dreamt it all. 

A quick glance over to his right arm revealed that he was still holding the staff.

Rhys whispered a quiet thanks to whatever entity was out there because apparently he had not gone crazy yet and hallucinated the whole thing. Then his eyes widened in horror when it dawned on him that he really discovered the Handsome Sorcerer’s crypt, and horror turned into dread when he realized that every single stone which once rested within the staff was destroyed, cracked beyond repair, and the swirling silver marks were gone. 

There was no denying that this was still the same staff, but as he probed it with a detect spell, it came back without a trace of magic in it. 

What had he done? Somehow he had broken one of the most sacred relics in all of Dragon’s Keep. The wizards were going to kill him! He needed to get out of here and run as far away as his legs would take him, maybe find refuge and spend the rest of his days running and hiding. 

Rhys went back to the door, now a cracked wooden one, and gasped when he reached for the handle. He raised his trembling hand towards his face, praying that this was just a trick of the light. His right hand was now etched in silver runes, just like the staff had once been. He pulled up his sleeve and saw that it extended all the way to his shoulder and he wanted to throw up. Death was no longer the worst thing that could happen to him. He had heard horror stories of people with unique magic abilities being tortured to drain their magic from them. 

Rhys covered his arm back up with the sleeve and tucked it into his stomach, hoping he would not need to use his right arm again in the near future and hurried into the hallway, now with torches lighting the way. The way back to the exit of the crypts was ridiculously short and soon he hurried through the rest of the Keep, avoiding eye contact with everyone he passed until he could finally slide into the relative safety of his shared bedroom. 

Vaughn was there, sitting up in his own cot while reading a book. He glanced up at Rhys when he came in, his relaxed expression of deep concentration turning into surprise, and he scrambled to his feet.

“Woah, what happened to your eye?” Vaughn asked, coming closer with curiosity written all over him, and Rhys instinctively raised his hand to his face. 

“What- What’s wrong with my eye?” he demanded, having trouble to keep his voice from shaking. 

“It’s blue!” Vaughn exclaimed, “And glowing.” 

“Shit!” Rhys stared at his reflection in the mirror hanging on the opposite wall, seeing the damage himself for the first time, and pressed his hand down to cover it but the blue light managed to creep through his fingers.

“Sit down and tell me what happened,” Vaughn suggested, being the good friend that he was and currently the more collected mind of the two. 

“I don’t have time. If anyone else saw my eye I’m screwed,” Rhys yelled, shrugging off Vaughn’s hand on his shoulder and racing to his own cot to pull out the bag underneath. He frantically began stuffing it with clothes and whatever else within arms reach. Vaughn observed this manic behaviour with growing concern.

“Chill out! It can’t be worse than what Yvette did last year.” 

“I broke the Sorcerer’s staff!” Rhys spat, continuing to cram various items into his bag. 

“What?” Vaughn looked confused for a moment, then realization struck him, “Oh... Oh shit you’re so screwed. I’m going to go get Yvette, she’ll know what to do. Stay right here and don’t move, but keep packing! And pack my stuff too if you get the chance. If you have to leave, then I’m going with you,” Vaughn bounced on his feet a little before sprinting out the door, shutting it sharply behind him, leaving Rhys alone with the preparations for their escape, with his thoughts and, most importantly, his fears.

Rhys continued his frantic packing in between anxiously looking at the door, half expecting either wizards or Vaughn to come through at any moment. Every moment felt like an eternity with his heart racing faster than it ever had before. By the time Vaughn returned with Yvette, he had packed and repacked both his and Vaughn’s things twice. 

“Alright, Rhys, calm down,” Yvette said when she saw him in the middle of ripping their bags open yet again. 

“Calm down? CALM DOWN? I’m on borrowed time here,” Rhys said. 

“But you’re still alive, which is more than I can say about you if you had left Dragon’s Keep before talking to me first,” she said, putting her hands on her hips, “What exactly happened down there in the crypts?” 

Rhys quickly recounted the tale while nervously plucking at his arms. Vaughn looked horrified at the story while Yvette remained stone faced during the whole thing. When Rhys had finished, she sighed heavily, and he waited to hear if she had advice.

“You need to get out of here,” she said after a moment. 

“Yeah, I know,” Rhys said, “And every minute here is another minute the other wizards may find out what I’ve done.” 

Yvette rolled her eyes. 

“Relax, Rhys, you can’t just leave here with a half-assed plan and expect to survive, they’ll find you sooner or later.” 

“Then what do I do?” Rhys asked. Yvette tapped at her lips and thought for a moment.

“Find a dragon’s vault?” she offered, finally, “The Watchers from Above would forgive anyone if they found a vault. You’d be let back in with open arms even if you destroyed a priceless artifact.” 

“Yeah, but how do I find a vault? It’s not like I can just find one on the side of the road,” Rhys hissed. Yvette shrugged. 

“It’s not my job, but I can give you a bit of help.” She fished around in her pocket and pulled out a rock tied to a string and a small bag of coins, tossing them to Rhys. 

“Great, he can fight off dragons with a rock on a string,” Vaughn said. Yvette glared at him and the tiny man seemed to shrink even further under her scolding gaze. 

“It’s not just any rock on a string, it gives you ownership of one of the Guardian Golems to help you,” she said, “And the money should be self explanatory.” 

“Why give this to us? Aren’t you coming?” Rhys asked. Yvette shook her head. 

“I’m more useful where I’m at; I can keep the heat off of you guys for a little bit and help scramble the search,” she said, “Now c’mon, let’s get you out of here.” 

Yvette and Vaughn walked in front of Rhys through the Keep’s many hallways as he stayed tucked behind them, covering his head and arms with a cloak. Every time they passed someone Rhys gripped the fabric a little tighter. They breathed a collective sigh of relief when they made it out without any incident. 

Once outside, Yvette gave Vaughn and Rhys a hug and wished them well on their journey, leaving them with the towering rock golem before turning back inside. 

“Where do we go from here?” Vaughn asked. 

“I have no idea. I’ve never hunted a vault before,” Rhys said. 

“Neither have I.” 

They glanced back at Dragon’s Keep which towered over them like a foreboding figure in the night. 

“Wherever we start, let’s get far away from this place first,” Rhys said, turning his back on the Keep and facing the twisted forest beyond instead. It was too dark to see through the fog, but it couldn’t be worse than the dangerous grounds of their former home.

...Right?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fiona returns after a year of adventuring to find her old home and life not as she left it.  
Rhys looks for some guidance.

The town of Hollow Point was nestled on the side of the mountain. While it had formerly been a mining community, the town was now a place for outcasts to gather looking for shelter and a new life. Individuals came from far and wide during the reign of the Handsome Sorcerer and there they stayed, adding to the thriving populous. Many adventurers also chose to seek their fortunes there as well because it was rumored to be near several ancient castles and even a few dragon vaults. 

There were many criers out in the streets advertising their wares, however one in particular stood out from the rest. A beautiful woman dressed in bright, layered skirts and a top that scantily showed off her midriff. Her brown, coiled hair was tied back with numerous beads and trinkets and strips of fabric, and her ears were looped with gold bands. Everything, from the foreign patterns of her clothes to the style of her hair, gave her the aura of a seasoned traveler, and in a town full of adventurous spirits that alone was enough to draw in many people and examine her wares.

“Fortunes told! Potions that really work! Charms and Wards!” She cried. A stream of people passed by, some making hasty purchases before hurrying along. After the stream thinned, one woman dressed in adventurer’s garb stayed behind. She crossed her arms and stared at the other, a wry smile on her lips. 

“Mind if I get my fortune told?” The woman asked and the vendor's jaw dropped at her sight. It took a moment to regain her composure, but then her eyes lit up. At the same time she schooled her face back into a professional mask.

“Yes, of course, step inside my Caravan, madam,” she curtsied low, pulling back the thick curtain leading to her tent. 

Once inside, the two embraced. 

“Fiona!” the saleswoman hugged the other tightly, dropping whatever accent she had pretended to have while crying in the streets. 

“It’s good to see you too, Sasha.” Fiona said, “How long has it been?” 

“Too long!” Sasha said, “Let me get you a cup of wine and you can tell me all about your adventures, specifically the one that brings you back to this piss-poor town.” 

“Don’t you have a business to run? Fortunes and all that crap?” 

Sasha gave a shrug while pouring out cheap wine into a pewter mug. 

“I make more money cutting pursestrings in the night and doing whatever cons Felix sets up.” she admitted, “This is just to keep up appearances and find new targets.”

She handed the mug to Fiona who sipped at it and struggled not to make a face at the bitter flavor. She’d drunken her fair share of watered down wine, and then there was this crap. She glanced around, seeing the state of disrepair everything had fallen into and made a mental note to ask Sasha about it a bit later. Instead, she focused on the crystal ball in the corner and snorted. 

“So this is where you tell fortunes?” she asked, pointing to it.d

“Yeah. It’s not a great set up, but I’ve got a lot of people coming in. In fact, there’s this one guy- his name's August- who is one of my regulars.” 

“Do you give family discounts?” Fiona asked. 

“I’ll tell you what, you tell me what happened to Athena and I’ll give you your fortune.” Sasha said. Fiona sucked in a deep breath. 

Athena had been Fiona’s mentor. Fiona had dreams of becoming an adventurer ever since she was a child, and when she found Athena looking for work, she begged Athena to train her even if it meant leaving her small family behind for a time. And now here Fiona was, back home without her trainer or the great fortune she promised to find. 

“She, well, I mean, I-” Fiona didn’t even know where to begin. Sasha raised an eyebrow and studied her sister’s face for a moment before grabbing Fiona’s hand. 

“You fell in love with her, didn’t you?” 

“You’re getting really good at reading people, you know,” Fiona said, “And yeah, I did.” 

“So what happened?” 

It grew quiet for a moment, as Fiona carefully found the words to say. 

“We grew… intimate with each other while we were searching for this enchanted grove of some sort, and suddenly she got up one day and said she couldn’t do it anymore. Apparently she had a lover in the Elpisian Isles, and decided she wanted her instead.” Fiona looked down sadly at her cup of wine before taking another bitter swig. 

“Oh, Fi, I’m so sorry.” Sasha placed her hand on top of her sister’s, who squeezed it tightly. 

“It’s fine, Sasha, it really is. I came back ‘cause this is one of the best places to find jobs.” Fiona cleared her throat uncomfortably, “So, my fortune?” 

Sasha jumped up, grateful for the distraction. 

“Right! Let me get the cards!” 

“What, I don’t get the crystal ball?” Fiona asked. 

“That’s only for paying customers,” Sasha teased, grabbing a worn deck and shuffling them, “So, pull three cards from the deck and place them on the table in front of you.” 

Fiona grabbed the three cards and placed them down one at a time. 

“What do these mean?” she asked. Sasha shrugged. 

“Hell if I know, I mostly just make it up.” she said. 

“Do you even know what each of the cards are called?”

“Sure, that one’s single pentagram one, that one has seven little cups, and that one is a kick-ass tower.” Sasha said. Both of them paused for a moment, a fake solemnity settling before both of them burst out laughing. 

“Sasha, you’re the worst!” Fiona said, “How would you even read them? Make something up for me!” 

“Hm,” Sasha tapped her mouth with her fingers, then she closed her eyes. When she opened them, she was in performance mode. “Ah yes, I’m reading it clearly now. The single pentagram symbolizes a single, otherworldly creature coming into your life as a companion. The cups symbolize the desires of your heart and what you seek in your life. And the tower symbolizes the castle you will one day earn.” 

Fiona laughed. 

“Sounds great. I’ll take it,” she said.

The two talked until late into the night after the sun had set, sharing their individual adventures. Sasha began making dinner for the two of them and it was… scant to say the least. 

“Hey, Sasha, please tell me you have more food than that,” Fiona said, eyeing the small amount of food. It looked barely enough to still most of their hunger for this night, but surely not enough to feed her sister for more than another day.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were coming, otherwise I would have bought stuff,” Sasha said. Fiona bit her lip, remembering the bitter wine and worn items. 

“Sasha, you say you’ve been earning money. Where does it go?” Fiona said. Sasha gave a fake laugh. 

“Oh, you know, to stuff.” 

“Sasha.” Fiona gave her a serious look and Sasha looked down sadly. 

“It’s Felix. He’s got in some trouble, but we’ll pay it off I swear! We’re fine, things are just a little tight right now.” 

“How long has this been going on?” Fiona demanded. 

“Not long, just a few months,” 

“Dammit, Sasha, you should have sent me a letter; I could have helped!” 

“With finding two million?” Sasha said, shaking a little. 

“What? Two million? Who does he owe, half the kingdom?” 

“I didn’t want you to worry. We’re paying it off slowly, and Vallory seems content with just that for now.” 

“He owes it to Vallory? Shit, Sasha. You should have told me!” 

“You would have come back, and you were out there living your dream. I didn’t want to ruin it.” 

“Sasha, you mean so much more to me than adventuring. I’m the older sister; I’m supposed to look after you, remember? We’ll find a solution.” 

Fiona was lost in thought for a bit, plans racing through her mind. 

“We could try to scam someone big,” she offered, “Or pickpocketing the people who come in to get their fortunes told.

“You think I haven’t tried that?” Sasha asked, “I’m not getting any big fish.” 

“What about a major heist?” 

“Being thrown in the dungeon isn’t my idea of a good time.” 

“Killing Vallory?” 

“Next you’ll be saying we should just go and find a Dragon Vault.” 

Fiona went over to put a hand on her sister’s shoulder.

“Hey, we’ll figure something out. You’ve to me. Even if we have to pickpocket every lowlife who comes into this tent for the next five years, we’ll figure something out.” 

Suddenly Sasha stretched out her arms, pulling her sister into a tight hug. Fiona froze for a moment - she was always so awkward when it came to such affectionate gestures, it wasn't like she trusted anyone else enough to let touch them her. But she quickly relaxed into her sister's embrace. Sasha was her only family and her true home.

“Thanks, Fi.” Sasha said when she let go. Her eyes already looked a little less tired. “I’m glad you’re back.” 

***************************************************************************************

Rhys had been having dreams, dark and feverish. He heard that same laughter he had in the crypts surrounding him, pulling him into darkness with tendrils of bright blue. 

“Bring me back, Rhysie, bring me back…” a voice whispered. 

He woke with a start, sitting and gasping. The sun had just risen in the sky, lighting up his and Vaughn’s small campsite. 

“Are you okay?” The golem,who they had taken to calling “Loader Bot” turned its head to Rhys. 

“Yeah, I’m okay,” he said, rubbing his eyes laying back down for a moment and enjoyed the sunshine. Around Dragon’s Keep was perpetual clouds and fog, and it had been a while since he had basked in the sunlight. Even though they had been traveling for about four days, he still enjoyed the experience of sunlight warming his face, chasing away the darkness of his nightmare. 

He got up reluctantly, dusted off the cloak he had slept on and searched through what was left of their rations.

“Good morning, Rhys!” Vaughn woke up cheerfully, startling Rhys from his thoughts. 

“Hey. We don’t have much for breakfast,” Rhys ripped the small breadloaf he had in half and handed it to Vaughn. 

“Damn, is that it? We’ll need to stop by a town soon and get supplies.” 

“That’d be great if we knew where a town was,” Rhys said, nibbling on his piece of bread. 

“Calculating…” Loader Bot‘s eye lit up, “there is a town half a day’s travel south east of here.” 

“Woah, how long could you do that for?” Vaughn asked. 

“The whole time.” 

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Rhys asked.

“You didn’t ask.” 

“Well, let’s get going then,” Vaughn said, visibly excited. He was clearly much more enthusiastic about this adventure than Rhys was. 

Rhys was mostly upset about this whole thing. He was going places in Dragon’s Keep; he was powerful. He may even become the next Handsome Sorcerer one day, and now he was homeless wandering the woods (albeit with his best friend) without a clear goal in mind as what to do beyond survival. 

With a sigh, Rhys followed Vaughn’s springing step towards Hollow Point. 

***  
When they arrived in the town, Vaughn was immediately taken in by the sights. Rhys was… less so. 

“There are guilds! And adventurers! And smell that fresh baked bread.” Vaughn took in a deep whiff, grinning widely. Rhys curled his nose, stepping around a pile of horse dung. 

“Let’s just get some supplies and get back to Loader Bot.” 

“Rhys, bro, you gotta chill. We’re fine here. Besides, when was the last time you’ve been in a place like this? Enjoy it while you have it.” 

“I’d rather be back at the keep,” Rhys muttered. Vaughn narrowed his eyes and put his hands on his hips, glaring at Rhys. 

“You’ve been given an awesome adventure, and you want to go back to the keep? Look, Rhys, we’ll find a way back there, but for now explore and have fun. Live a little! You might not get this chance again. Here,” Vaughn fished in the coinpurse and gave Rhys several coins, “I’m going to shop for supplies, while you are required to go out and have a little fun. See the sights, buy new gear. We’ll meet back at town square come evening. Now go and have fun, and you always have Loader Bot‘s stone in case of emergency.” 

Vaughn gave Rhys such a determined, stubborn look that Rhys raised his hands in defeat. 

“Alright, alright, I’m going. I’ll see you at town square, now stop giving me that look.” Rhys backed away from Vaughn’s stern expression and disappeared into the crowd, wandering around the stalls. 

A flash of color caught the corner of his eye and he saw a tent with a beautiful woman standing in front of it. 

“Fortunes told! Learn your future and how to change your fate! Get the answers you seek.” the woman called, “All for only a gold coin.” 

Rhys could probably use some direction to his future, although in truth he wouldn’t mind getting to know that woman a bit better. He stepped forward. 

“A coin for fortunes?” he said, handing it to her. She smiled and curled her hand around the coin before pulling back the curtain. 

“Step right in,” she smiled. Rhys settled into the chair in front of a crystal ball. The woman stood before him. 

“Welcome, I can see you are a traveler in these parts, far from your home” She said, eyeing him over, “Your name… hm, starts with an ‘M’? No, an S. Wait. An R. And something unusual?” 

“It’s Rhys.” 

“Yes! Rhys.” she clapped her hands, “And very gifted in your skills, but often unappreciated for them.” 

“Yes! How did you know?” he asked. She smiled slyly.

“The spirits whisper to me.” she said, “They whisper in my blood and in my dreams.”

Rhys was caught remembering the voice he had heard in his own dreams, and it sent a shiver up his spine. 

“And are you, uh, familiar with these spirits.” 

“Very,” she said, a hint of mystery in her voice. 

“Can I change what I’m paying for?” he asked, leaning forward, “I want to know more about spirits.” 

She took a sharp step back. 

“I’m not sure I can do that, these things are very secretive. The spirits don’t like to be questioned.” 

“I can pay more!” he said, pulling out the rest of the handful Vaughn had given him and sifting through them.

“Spirits can’t exactly be bribed- wait, is that a platinum?” the fortune teller’s eyes widened in excitement, her hand wavering over the coin. She cleared her throat, “The spirits grow stronger around certain metals.” she explained hastily, “so I could work with that both as payment and as a conduit in addition to what you already paid.” 

Rhys handed it over and soon the fortune teller was fussing around, grabbing some odd candles and beads scattered about the little tent. While she was fluttering around, Rhys cleared his throat. 

“You know, normally I don’t bother actually talking to spirits, just raising them.” he laughed, tying to make some light conversation and breaking the thick tension that had settled around the room. 

It had the opposite effect. The room turned icy as the fortune teller turned to him. 

“You’re a necromancer?” she said quietly, a dark edge to her voice. 

“Um well, I used to be? But I’m not anymore I guess,” he saw her arm wavering towards one of the layers of her skirt, a glint of steel casting out. He swallowed thickly. 

“Get out.” she said. 

“But I-”

“I said GET OUT!” she pulled the knife on him. Rhys jumped up and tried to scramble out of there. In his haste he tripped and crashed onto the floor, hitting his head hard as he went. The last thing he saw as the world spun and turned to darkness was a familiar figure cast in blue, and then nothingness. 

*************************************************************************************

Sasha let out a scream. Fiona lept out from the grass where she rested behind the caravan, her sword raised as she ran into the caravan tent. 

“What’s going on?” she demanded. Sasha had her knife raised, pointing it towards an unconscious figure on the floor. 

“He- He’s a necromancer!” 

“”How do you know?” Fiona stared down at the figure. The man didn’t look too imposing to her.

“He said so himself!” Sasha insisted. Fiona frowned and krept closer. 

“Alright, so then we tie him up, and then we take him to the authorities. I’m certain we can get a good handful of gold for turning in a necromancer” Fiona said. 

“Wait, but don’t Necromancers always have a ton of gold or treasure? Especially if they’re from Dragon’s Keep? We could use that money to pay off Felix’s debt!”

“You listen to too many stories, Sasha.” Fiona sighed, but she saw the hopeful expression in her sister’s face and corrected herself, “But it’s worth a shot. I’ll interrogate him and see if he knows any secrets, okay?” 

Sasha grinned. 

“Really? You’re the best! But we can’t interrogate him here; people will ask questions if there’s screaming. There’s an abandoned building just west of here we can use”

“Alright, but you’re helping me carry him.”

“Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things only get better from here!   
Shoutout to Dualdreamer for being my beta. Please take the time to go check out her work, she is absolutely incredible.   
here's one of my favorites of hers: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19257427/chapters/45796780  
Also, if you liked this fic, be sure to check out my other series, Those Who Traveled!   
Toodles!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys realizes he has a new, ghostly companion. Sasha and Fiona figure out what to do with their new captive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna wait till I had more of a buffer before I posted this, but y'all, I am so tired I need to just keep moving. And I need a pick me up so please like and comment if you get the chance. Anyways, love ya -Last.

“Hey, princess, you ready to wake up? I can see your eyelids twitching,” an obnoxious voice filled Rhy’s ears. He groaned and shifted. His head ached. 

“Oh, no. Take your time. It’s not like I’ve been dying of boredom here or anything.” 

Rhys opened his eyes and screamed as he was nose to nose with the Handsome Sorcerer’s face. 

“HA! Nice girlish scream you got there, kiddo,” the Sorcerer said. 

“You’re-you’re!” Rhys began. 

“The Handsome Sorcerer, yeah I know. But since we’re about to become really great pals you can call me Jack, sweetcheeks.” 

“You’re dead!”

“Yeah, and you’re tied up. Now let’s stop stating the obvious so I can move on with my afterlife.” Jack said. Rhys looked down and found he was indeed tied up. He wiggled to see if he could slither out, but they held firm. 

“Why am I tied up?” he said, shooting an accusing look at Jack. 

“Probably for the same reason you’re in an abandoned building. And a crappy one at that. Look at those rats!” 

Rhys shrieked, looking for the rodent Jack was speaking of. Jack laughed.

“Ha! You’re so freaking gullible, you know that? Anyways, let’s talk shop.” Jack crossed his legs and sat down to Rhys’ level. 

“Alright, so what’s your story, kiddo?” he asked. Rhys was confused.

“Wha-”

“How did you bring my spirit back, cupcake? And chop chop, we don’t have all day till those scary chicks come back.” 

“I what?” 

Jack let out a groan. 

“Great, I’m bound to an idiot. Are you seriously telling me you didn’t do this on purpose?” 

Rhys shook his head. Jack grunted.

“Perfect, just perfect. Well, you have me now, so what do you want? What are your goals, aspirations. Please just give me something to work with here.” 

“Um, well, I’d like to not be tied up, and to not die,” Rhys began. 

“I’m already snoozing cupcake, there’s gotta be more.” 

“And I’d like to become a powerful necromancer and rule Dragon’s Keep one day?” Rhys said. 

“See? I can work with that. And what’s stopping you?” 

“Uh, being tied up?” 

“Are you serious?”

“That’s not everything- I’m also on the run for breaking something at Dragon’s Keep; they’d kill me if they found out.” 

“Nice, kid, nice.”

“So if I were to return somehow, I’d have to prove my worth somehow, make up for what I did.” Rhys explained, “But I can’t do that if I’m still tied up!” 

“Wah wah wah, you’re tied up. And I’m tied to your body so we’re both stuck; it’s not like I can untie you with my friggin’ ghost hands. But I’ll tell you what, I CAN help get you back to Dragon’s Keep.”

“Really?” 

“Yeah, sure kiddo. You make it back, I make it back, and with all the magic there we might find a way to unbind me from you. So here’s the thing, there's nothing that gets their dicks stiff more than getting their hands on some artifacts from a dragon vault. Thankfully, I know exactly where one is… or approximately where it is. It doesn’t matter. You run in, grab as much loot as those scrawny arms of yours can take, and return to Dragon’s Keep a hero.”

“A dragon vault? Do you know how dangerous those things are!” Rhys said with alarm. 

“Yeah, I’ve looted tons of them. How do you think I became so legendary?”

“I’d love to open a Dragon Vault one day,” Rhys said wistfully, “then follow in your footsteps, become a great leader. First I’d need to get out of these ropes.” He struggled weakly once more.

“Oh, you got a lot more problems to deal with than just those ropes. Those two crazy chicks could come back any minute, and they’re probably going to kill you.”

“Two crazy chicks? I thought that there was just the one.” 

“Well, turns out she has a sister, a smoking hot sister might I add.”

“Could they see you?” 

“Hell no! You think that old Jack here couldn’t have sweet talked you out of this mess if they could see or hear me? Looks like I’m stuck to you, and you alone. At least until we find some way to reverse this mess.” 

“Could you help me talk to them?” Rhys suggested, “Give me the right words to say? I’m afraid I might mess this up further.” 

“You don’t want me to do that, kiddo. You gotta have the looks to go along with it or it just doesn’t work.” 

“Then how am I supposed to get out of this?” 

Jack winked and gave a finger guns motion before disappearing as the door to the building swung open and two girls stepped in. 

“Great.” Rhys mumbled. He recognized the fortune teller immediately, however the woman that came with her remained a mystery to him- she must have been the one Jack was talking about being the sister. 

“Alright, you filthy necromancer,” The fortune teller began, “Tell us where you’ve stashed your loot.” 

The sister pinched the bridge of her nose. 

“Sasha,” she scolded. 

“Oh, I suppose you know how to do this better then, Fiona?” Sasha took a step back and let her sister take the lead. 

“Look, we can do this painfully or painlessly. Necromancer’s aren’t welcomed in this part, yet you came anyways. We can bring your body back to the authorities and earn a good handful of coin, unless you have a better offer.”

“I- how much?” Rhys asked. 

“A hundred gold.” Fiona said. 

Rhys’s mind was racing, he thought about the pouch Yvette had given him and wondered if there was enough- but Vaughn had that pouch, and had no idea where Rhys currently was to be able to pay that debt. 

What about what Rhys had in his pocket? His measley handful of coin wasn’t going to be enough, but it reminded him of the golem stone- he could summon Loaderbot to get him out of here!

“If you untie me, I could give you what I have.” Rhys offered. 

“We already checked your pockets, and you don’t.” Sasha sniffed. 

“Right, you called my bluff-” Rhys licked his lips anxiously, “But I swear, I’m not a bad guy. I just fell into the wrong crowd. I came here to run away from necromancy. That’s why I needed a fortune teller- to figure out what the hell I was going to do with my life now that I left it behind. Can’t you give me a break and just let me go?” 

“Nope.” FIona said, “A hundred gold is a hundred gold. But, if you don’t have any other offers, I suppose we should go and get the Authorities to cash that hundred gold in. Sasha, go grab em.” 

“A Dragon Vault!” Rhys blurted out before Sasha had the chance to leave the room. 

“A what?” Fiona asked, a smile curling at her lips. 

“I know the location of a Dragon Vault.” 

A blue light flickered beside him, and he saw Jack giving him an incredulous look. 

“What are you doing, kiddo?” Jack asked. 

“Really?” Sasha came back to him, visibly excited. “You know where a Dragon Vault is?” 

Rhys looked over at Jack. 

“What? I’m not telling you where it is so you can give it to these bozos!”

“I… am cursed to not speak of it, but I can guide you.” Rhys said. 

“And if we decide we don’t trust you?” Fiona asked, crossing her arms. 

“Then the secret of the Vault dies with me.” Rhys said. 

Fiona didn’t look convinced, however Sasha looked excited. 

“C’mon Fi, we can keep him tied up and if he’s pulling our tail we can just take him back- what have we got to lose? Besides, I know you’re itching to go on another adventure.” 

“Let’s talk about it before we make any rash decisions.” Fiona gestured for Sasha to follow her out of the building. 

“If you lead them, they’re going to run off with the treasure without you, cupcake.” 

“That’s why I’m not going to lead them to the Vault; I’m going to lead them right to loader bot, and he can take care of them.” 

“Huh. Not bad buttercup. That’s a decent plan.” 

“I thought it would-” Rhys didn’t finish his sentence as the side of the building busted open and loaderbot came walking through with Vaughn at his heels. 

“There you are, Rhys!” Vaughn said, “We were looking everywhere for you!” 

Rhys groaned as Fiona and Sasha came running back in. 

“What’s going- IS that a golem?” Sasha demanded. 

“Loaderbot, kill!” Rhys shrieked.

“Hm. No.” Loaderbot said,”You no longer hold the stone. They do.” Loaderbot gestured to the two women. 

“What?” Rhys demanded. 

“Oh, do you mean that weird looking rock? We took that from you when we searched your pockets.” Sasha said. 

“Not a bad guy, huh?” Fiona said, raising an eyebrow.

“Look, I’m not perfect.” Rhys said. 

Jack was cracking up. 

“I take back what I said, your plan was stupid, and you’re stupid. AH, geez this blew up in your face.” 

Rhys scowled. 

“Am I the only one completely lost here? What’s going on?” Vaughn asked.

“Golem, grab the short guy over there.” Sasha ordered. Loaderbot picked Vaughn up and pinned him against his chest. 

Fiona put her hands on her hips. 

“So… you were saying about a Dragon Vault?” 

“Yeah, uh,” Rhys felt sweat trickle down his back, “Can I have a moment? You know, to collect myself? This is all a little too much for me.”

Fiona sighed. 

“Alright, Sasha, make sure the short guy gets tied up. Loaderbot, will you accompany Rhys outside to make sure he doesn’t run away.”

“Affirmative.” 

Loaderbot led Rhys outside, who proceeded to scream into the air. 

“JACK!!!” he shouted. 

“What-?” Jack appeared, floating in the air in a lounging position.

“I need the location of the Dragon Vault.”

“No can do, kiddo- that’s private information.” 

“C’mon Jack, you gotta tell me something!” Rhys pleaded.

Jack laughed at Rhys, “Says who?” 

“Says I, the body you’re currently processing!!!” Rhys said, “If those girls decide to kill me then you’re dead too, Jackass.” 

“Wow, hurtful.” Jack said, pressing a hand against his heart in mock offense.

“If you’re just gonna sit there and act like an asshole, I can walk back in there and… figure something else out.”

“alright, fine!” Jack rolled his eyes, “But you got to give a little too, sweetheart. Vaults don’t come easy and it’s location is just about the only thing I have left thanks to being, yanno, dead and stuff.”

“Alright, what do you want?” Rhys asked. 

“Lots of things, princess. Not being dead would be great, for starters.” 

“That I can provide.” Rhys clarified.

“Well, first of all, I need you to not die. Seeing as I’m attached to you that would likely mean my own death or something. Now, I’ve come back before so I’ll probably do it again, but that just sounds like a lot of effort.”

Rhys snorted.

“Wasn’t planning on dying.” he said. 

“Good, so we’re on the same page here. Now, if you want to not die, you gotta listen to me, kiddo. I’ve raided tons of Vaults before, so I know how to actually survive them. Your little band here? They’ll be dead before you can say ‘whoops’.” 

Rhys shivered slightly and Jack continued

“Next, and I know this one might be hard for you since you got the personality of a cactus, but you gotta place nice with those girls, Sasha and Fiona I think it was? Yeah, they screwed you over, tried to kill you, and took your weird golem thing, but they’re your team now. All the best teams start with at least one assassination attempt.I remember this one time wehn I first met Nisha-”

“Nisha?” Rhys asked.

“You know what, it’s not important. What’s important is that you see those girls as your team, for now. I come first, obviously, but you can make this work for you. Besides, if you play nice they’ll probably untie you and start trusting you, which will make things a whole lot easier for both of us in the future.”

“Okay, so I play nice. Is that it?” 

“Not even close, but I’ll impart my wisdom on you as we go along, wouldn’t want to overload that little pea brain of yours too quickly. But there is one more think I should tell you before you go in there; Don’t tell anyone about me. I didn’t exactly have the best reputation among the locals, so if they knew I was bound to you, you’d have your throat slit faster than you could explain yourself. Sound good pumpkin? Ciao.” 

With that, Jack flickered out of existence once more leaving Rhys with Loaderbot who stared at him, cocking its head. 

“Are you okay?” it asked, its voice a deep rumble. 

“Uhhhh, Can I get back to you on that later?” 

Loaderbot didn’t press the issue as he brought Rhys back inside the building. 

To Rhy’s surprise, Vaughn was chatting amicably with Sasha. 

“Oh hey Rhys!” Vaughn said, “Sasha here was just telling me my fortune. She knows stuff about tarrot readings that Yvette didn’t even know!” 

“That’s great Vaughn.” Rhys said, trying to hold back a groan. Sometimes it was hard to love his bro. 

“How was your little “breakdown’ session?” Fiona asked sarcastically, “feeling better?” 

“Yeah… got a clearer reading on the Vault. I will for sure be able to get you guys there.” Rhys said. 

“Great, then let’s go!” Fiona said, clapping her hands. Rhys licked his lips and thought back to his talk with Jack. 

“Hold up,” he said. Fiona cocked an eyebrow. 

“I’m leading you to a vault,” Rhys said. “Those things are worth, like, a million necromancer bounties over. So, if I’m leading you guys, I want to make a few things clear.”

“Like what.” Fiona was skeptical. 

“These things are dangerous- we’re already going to be facing enough in there, we don’t need to also be facing each other. I propose we work as a team and start trusting each other a little more. There’s going to be enough treasure in there that we don’t have to fight over it, and once that’s over, we’ll be on our way. You guys leave with as much treasure as you can carry and then some, and we never see each other again.”

“Sounds… reasonable, but you have to earn our trust first.” Sasha said, “We’re not about to put our faith in some filthy necromancer.”

“Fair enough-” Rhys said

Fiona raised an eyebrow at this exchange but said nothing; her thoughts, and plans were her own. 

“There’s a lot to plan,” she said, “How far did you say we’d have to be traveling again?” 

“Uh-” rhys glanced around, hoping for Jack to appear. Naturally, the blue spector decided to stay hidden, so Rhys cleared his throat, “Several weeks journey, at least.” he said. 

“Then let’s get to the Caravan and start packing. It’s going to be a long trip.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fiona and Sasha run into trouble, and two heroes come to the group's aid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *rises from the grave* I LIVE.

Fiona and Sasha took the lead with Loaderbot, Rhys and Vaughn following dutifully behind. They had moved the ropes so that only their hands were bound, making it easy to hide in case they were stopped and questioned on their way back. 

“You know, I was hoping for you untying us with this whole ‘trusting each other’ thing.” Rhys grumbled

“And Sasha told you that you two would have to earn it.” Fiona said. 

“How are we supposed to earn it if you don’t untie us?”

“You’ll figure something out, I’m sure.” Fiona smiled.

They approached the caravan. The sun was setting in the sky and the market place had largely cleared out. 

“Wait out here. Loaderbot; make sure they don’t try anything.” Fiona said. Loaderbot nodded and positioned itself behind Rhys and Vaughn, gazing down at them. 

Sasha went first into the caravan, ducking her head underneath the fabric flap covering the entrance with Fiona following closely after.

“Ah, girls, you’re here!” Felix was waiting for them as they came in with outstretched arms as he sat at the table. Sitting with Felix in between them were two large, tough looking men. Fiona stiffened. Men like that were rarely a good sign.

Ever the actress and diplomat, Sasha beamed at him, purposefully ignoring the other two men. 

“Oh, Felix, it’s a good thing you’re here!” Sasha said. “We have some wonderful news-”

Felix waved her off. 

“As do I, Sasha, and mine simply can’t wait.” he said.. Sasha’s mouth snapped shut, and Fiona could see Sasha stiffen as well. Felix continued, oblivious to the girl’s discomfort

“As you have no doubt known for quite some time, I’ve fallen into a debt of sorts with some very powerful people here in this city. Well, these lovely gentleman represent those powerful people and come by with an offer, a deal that we would be foolish not to accept”

Fiona’s heart sank; she knew that the uneasy peace they had in this city couldn’t last. So what was the deal? Did Felix have another scam in mind, a deal that would give them enough wriggle room to skip town the next night? Fiona crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. 

“I think we have come to an arrangement that will be ideal for everyone. One where Fiona can return to her mercenary work, I can continue to conduct business outside the confines of Vallory’s dungeons.” Felix said. 

Sasha managed a fake, interested smile. 

“That’s wonderful! How did you manage this?” she asked.

“Well, Vallory has agreed to transfer my debt to you-” Felix said, “But rest assured she does not intend to throw you in prison; you will just work off what you’re owing her, just like you’ve been doing before. Only this time, you will be working as Vallory’s ah… personal…”

“Slave?” Fiona spat, her hand already on the hilt of her rapier. 

“No, no, nothing quite so severe!” Felix said, “You’d be living a very good life. You’ll be working as part of Vallory’s personal household, and Vallory’s son, August, has taken a liking to you, and I'm certain something can be arranged to make the deal more favorable. A marriage perhaps? Regardless, you’d be living a life of luxury, Sasha. This is better than anything we could have hoped for!” 

“No.” Sasha said, her facade dropping “I don’t want that.” 

“It’s already been decided, Sasha,” Felix said coldly. “These men will make sure you get escorted to Vallory’s residence.” 

As the two thugs stood up, Fiona’s sword was drawn and pointed at them, her mouth twitching at the corners.

“I wouldn’t suggest trying to take my sister anywhere unless you want a sword in your chest.” she sneered, stepping in to guard Sasha. 

One of the men chuckled as he took a step forward, forcing Fiona to take a step back.

“You’re not taking her” Fiona said, her arm trembling slightly as she moved the blade between the two men.

“Fiona, enough of this nonsense! It’s for the best!” Felix stood and went to grab Sasha’s arm. Sasha screamed as she tried to yank her arm away.

Fiona hadn’t realized what she had done until it was over. 

Felix’s mouth gaped open, his hands shaking as he looked down at Fiona’s rapier buried in his chest. Blood began dripping from the corner of his mouth before he collapsed, rapier still buried deep within him. 

The thugs growled. 

“A whore and a murderer-” one of them said, “let’s get them Finch!

The man called Finch lunged forward. Now weaponless Fiona grabbed the nearest thing to her hand which happened to be a lit oil lamp, and crashed it against the side of Finch’s head while Sasha ran towards the caravan entrance. 

Finch screamed as his face bubbled underneath the heat of the flames, burning oil dripping down onto the Caravan’s many draping fabrics, catching fire. Fiona followed Sasha’s lead and made a break towards the door as the Caravan lit up in flame. 

Fiona ran past Rhys and Vaughn, leaving them behind.

“Hey, wait!” Rhys cried out. He tried to follow her but Loaderbot’s arm stopped him. 

Fiona felt a twinge of guilt about leaving them behind and ran back to undo the bonds. 

“You want to prove your trust? Come with me!” She ran, hardly caring of the two men were following her, just as Finch and his buddy burst out of the Caravan, fury in their eyes.

The flames were high enough that they would soon attract law enforcers, and since Vallory ran this town that meant they had very little time to leave this city. 

Fiona followed Sasha’s trail, making many twists and turns through the streets until they stopped in an alley corner to catch their breaths. She nodded to Rhys and Vaughn as they joined her. 

“You almost left us behind” Rhys said between gulps of air.

“Yeah, but I didn’t.” Fiona snapped. 

“What the hell happened back there?” Vaughn asked. 

“Our adopted father thought he could get out of his debts by selling Sasha.” Fiona said through gritted teeth. 

“Oh.” Rhys said, “Damn.” 

Sasha had scaled the wall as best she could to get a peak at what lied beyond and jumped back down with a frown. 

“It’s almost night time, and the city gates will be heavily guarded,” Sasha said, changing the subject “we are only a few streets away, but they’re lighting it up with torches already.”

“Well, can’t you fight your way past, since you’re a mercenary? And we can stay back here and wait.” Vaughn suggested and Fiona shot him a dirty look.

“In case you didn’t notice I’m only one person and I don’t even have my frickin sword.”

“What happened to your sword?”

“I used it to stab the last person who made dumb suggestions.” 

Vaughn’s mouth snapped shut. 

“While I appreciate banter as much as the next person, but we need to come up with plan to actually get us out of here. Vallory’s goons already have the gates surrounded, and it’s only a matter of time before there are heavy patrols walking around looking for us.” 

Fiona glanced at the darkening sky.

“We can wait till it gets fully dark and try to make a break for it, avoiding torches and moonlight where we can, but I don’t like our chances. 

“...Maybe I can help?” Rhys suggested. Sasha and Fiona turned to him and crossed their arms. Rhys cleared his throat. 

“I can use magic- try to summon a ghost fog or something. That can limit how much they can spot us.” he said. 

“Go for it.” Fiona said with a shrug. While she didn’t like the idea of relying on a necromancer, they didn’t exactly have a lot of options.

Vaughn grabbed Rhy’s arm and pulled him to the side. 

“Ghost fog? That’s way too advanced for you! Especially if you want this to cover the whole town!” he hissed, “You’ll burn yourself out and we’ll still be stuck here!”

“I’ve got to try something,” Rhys insisted. 

Vaughn opened his mouth to answer, but then let it snap shut again and nodded, taking a step back to allow Rhys to spread his arms and prepare the spell. Rhys closed his eyes and summoned power within him, gathering it within him before sending it out in the spell. A pathetic wisp of fog started curling around his feet.

Fiona and Sasha both raised their eyebrows and crossed their arms, unimpressed. 

“C’mon” rhys said to himself, urging more power into the spell. 

“Lemme help you with that,” Jack’s voice spoke inside Rhy’s head, and suddenly Rhys felt a jolt of energy which spilled out of him.

Clouds rolled through the sky, rapidly blocking out the rising moon and setting sun and plunging the town into deep shadows. Fog billowed out from Rhys’ feet, spreading quickly across the ground, thick enough to make it difficult for Sasha and Fiona to be able to see him. They grabbed each other’s hands protectively as if they would lose each other in the thick, misty veil. 

“Is that… good enough?” Rhys asked quietly, mostly to himself when the spell was complete. He stared at his hands for a moment before collapsing on the ground, utterly spent. Vaughn caught him as best as he could. 

“Loaderbot, can I get a hand? Rhys is heavier than he looks,” Vaughn huffed. Loaderbot bent down, ready to pick Rhys up, but Rhys shooed him away. 

“I can take care of myself,” he grumbled.

“Yeah, I can work with this.” Fiona said finally, glancing around at the fog and grinning “Let’s get going, and stick close; I don’t want to lose any of you.” 

She led the way as they moved through the streets, her and Sasha’s memory being the only thing helping them find their way through the once familiar streets. 

It was slow work. They paused every time footfalls were heard in the night, but eventually they made it to the wall a ways off from the brightly lit gates.

“You guys ready to climb?” Fiona asked. 

“Do we have any rope?” Rhys asked, swallowing heavily. 

“Yeah, in the Caravan” Sasha said, “But we don’t need it, right? I’ll show you how it’s done.” She began climbing, digging her fingers in and slowly moving up. Fiona stood behind her, keeping her arms outstretched in case Sasha fell. 

“Fiona- we have a problem,” Rhys said, tugging at Fiona’s armor

“Not now!” she hissed, “Sasha’s almost up.” 

“Fiona!” Rhys said again. Fiona hazarded a glance and her stomach dropped at what she saw. Sasha slipped and fell on her rear back onto the hard earth. 

“OW!” she said, “Thanks for that Fi... Fi?” Sasha looked around and saw what had distracted Fiona. The fog had thinned considerably, enough to see that they were surrounded.

“Oh.” Sasha said. 

There were at least a dozen men. One of them had a bow in his hands, drawn and ready to fire at them.

“Vallory wants the one girl alive; kill the rest!” The archer shouted and aimed his sights at Fiona. She closed her eyes, knowing that there was nothing she could do to stop it. 

Thwank.

Fiona opened her eyes to see a large figure standing in front of her, his shield raised with an arrow embedded inside of it. 

“That’s no way to treat a lady!” The man exclaimed, “What do you think darlin?” 

“Looks like they could use some heroes!” A voice called from the rooftops behind them. FIona glanced and saw through the mist that another archer sitting there, his bow trained at the men.

“Now, unless you fellas want to be riddled with arrows from my partner up there, I suggest you leave these poor folk alone.” The man who saved them bellowed.

There was a moment of silence, the goons glancing at each other debating whether or not they wanted to get into this fight. The leader growled. 

“Kill these assholes as well!” he commanded. 

The swordsman laughed and grabbed his sword, swinging it at the first of the men who charged at him, slicing him through and splattering blood on Fiona who had crouched behind the swordsman. She scrambled over and grabbed at the fallen men’s sword. She grimaced. It wasn’t as light as she was used to, but it would do for now. She lifted it up in time to block an attack from her side and couldn’t help but grin. She had missed this. 

Meanwhile, Sasha had her knife at the ready as two men lunged at her. She buried her weapon into the stomach of one, but all too soon another one grabbed her around the waist, dragging her away.

Sasha kicked and screamed, but the man was too strong for her. She cried for help, but Fiona was currently engaged in battle, and the mysterious swordsman was busy fighting off two other men. 

There was a thud, and Sasha felt something wet and warm splatter along the back of her neck as the tightness around her waist loosened. The man behind her collapsed. She glanced behind her and saw an arrow through his head. Looking at the direction she saw the arrow came from Sasha saw the mysterious archer from the rooftops who gave her a cheeky wave. She waved back and grabbed her knife back from the other man’s body. 

Rhys and Vaughn cowered behind Loaderbot as the battle raged on. The golem struck at any man who came close, keeping them safe. Rhys felt guilt surge through him as he watched Sasha nearly get captured. He should do something- anything to help her! Then he saw the arrow wiz through the sky and embed itself in the man, freeing Sasha. He glanced at the source in relief, only to notice an enemy archer aiming at their ally.

Rhys cried out, trying to warn the other archer. The enemy fired, but the other archer smoothly caught the arrow in midair, twirled it around in his fingers, set it in his own bow, and fired back down, shooting through the enemy’s throat. 

“Damn.” Rhys breathed. 

The rooftop archer gave Rhys a thumbs up, and Rhys flushed a little. 

The fight ended quickly after that. Once it was clear that their leader- the archer- was dead, most of the men fled. Fiona dusted herself off and wiped some of the blood off of her bracers before reaching an arm out to shake the hand of the swordsman who saved them. 

“Thanks,” she said. The swordsman took her hand firmly. 

“You’re welcome, darlin’. I just couldn’t let some thugs kill and kidnap folks like yourselves. The name’s Axton, by the way.” 

“Well, thank you Axton, we appreciate it.” Fiona said. Axton nodded.

“Where were you folks off to?” he asked. 

“Anywhere away from here.” Fiona said. 

“Fair enough, although if you don’t mind my saying you hardly look ready to strike off out of town.” 

“Yeah, well, this was all a little sudden.” Sasha cut in, crossing her arms. 

“Now if you’ll excuse us, we need to get over this wall before more of those goons show up.” Fiona said. 

“Could you use a rope?” The archer from the rooftops had leapt down and joined Axton’s side, pulling a length from his pack, offering it. 

“Yeah,” Fiona said, reaching out for it. The archer gave her a wink and pulled the rope away, tying it to one of his arrows, setting it into his bow, and firing up towards the wall. The arrow hooked, and he tugged on it to determine it’s secureness. He turned to Fiona and gave a little curtsy.

“After you,” he said. 

Fiona grabbed the rope, testing it lightly before using it to scramble over. Sasha quickly followed after and Rhys swallowed heavily watching them. He wasn’t certain that he’d even be able to climb with the rope. He glanced over at Vaughn- at least he had his bro to be pathetic with.

And then Vaughn started climbing with ease. Rhys’ jaw dropped open. 

“No way,” Rhys said, shaking his head, “That’s not fair!”

“You’re next, darlin’” Axton said, tugging on the rope. Rhys staggered forward, placing both hands on the rope, unsure of how to proceed. His arms were shaking. 

“Are you okay?” the archer asked, coming in close to Rhys.

“I just haven’t ever climbed before.” Rhys admitted. 

“Hey, that’s okay. We’ve got you.” The archer grabbed part of the rope and touched the small of Rhys’ back, wrapping the rope around him several times before securing it with a knot. He patted Rhys when he finished. 

“Can your golem friend give you a boost?” The archer asked. Rhys looked at Loaderbot who nodded. 

“Don’t worry, baby, just climb. I’ll cover it down here.” Axton said. The archer nodded and, without the aid of the rope, began climbing the rough stone. Even without the rope, he was fast and was soon at the top where he waited, grabbing onto the middle of the rope and tossing it down.

“You guys ready to pull?” he asked down where Sasha, Fiona, and Vaughn were. Then he turned to Axton and gave him a thumbs up. 

Axton knelt down to give Rhys a boost onto Loaderbot’s shoulder, which took Rhys at least halfway up the length of the wall, giving him a good start. 

“Climb the best you can, we’ve got you. You don’t have to be scared” The archer said, his voice warm and comforting. Rhys felt a slight tug on the rope as the archer began pulling, and he reached his arms up and tried to scale the wall as best he could. He slipped once, but the rope held strong and he didn’t fall. He got his bearings again and climbed. 

When he was almost at the top, the archer knelt down and grabbed his arms, heaving him the rest of the way up. 

“Oh gods” Rhys said, suddenly feeling dizzy. The archer wrapped his strong arms around Rhys and held him steady, and although the archer had cloth covering his nose and mouth Rhys could imagine feeling the man’s hot breath on his skin.

“You’re good, you did it!” the archer beamed at him, “You’ll get better. Now are you ready to head down?” 

Rhys pulled away from the archer and glanced down. The drop was intimidating. 

“I’ll break my legs!” he squeeked. 

“Just tuck and roll!” Fiona offered. Rhys felt suddenly sick. 

“Rhys, drop and we’ll catch you- that’s what they did for me.” Vaughn said. 

“Nuh uh” Rhys shook his head; he wasn’t about to jump. 

“You trusted them enough to help you up, let them help you down.” the archer said, “Or we can try to lower you down. It’s your choice.” 

Rhys looked at the archer, those warm, gentle eyes peeking out from beneath the shadowed hood. Everything felt warm. Rhys felt suddenly embolden underneath the archer’s gaze. Would he be impressed by Rhys if he jumped? 

“I-I can jump,” he said, undoing the knot on the rope and letting it slip away. The archer nodded and gathered up the slack. Rhys glanced down at the ground and saw Fiona and Sasha locking arms with each other as a sort of makeshift net for him to land in. 

He swallowed. He had gotten FIona and Sasha to trust him- now could he trust them? 

At the very least he could trust Vaughn. He closed his eyes and jumped. 

Wind rushed past his ears, and it was surprisingly a short drop until he hit Fiona and Sasha’s arms. They bent their knees to catch his weight and slow his descent enough so it didn’t hurt as he bumped the ground. 

“I’m impressed; he didn’t scream.” Sasha remarked. Rhys groaned. 

Axton had joined the archer up the wall, coiling up the rope.

“I don’t think our rope’s gonna support ya,” Axton called down to Loaderbot, “Can you find your own way out of town and back to your friends?” 

Rhys heard Loaderbot’s quiet ‘yes’, and then he watched as Axton and the archer turned and jumped off the wall. Axton hit the ground first, bending his knees as he landed to take the impact with a grunt. The archer, however, tucked and rolled, stood up and dusted himself off. 

“Thank you,” Fiona said to them, “For all of this.”

“You’re welcome.” Axton said. 

“So, where are you two heroes heading?” Sasha asked. 

“Just following Queen Buttstallion’s orders.” Axton said, “Helping people, fighting monsters. That sort of thing. Spreading her light.” 

“AW MAN I KNEW THAT ASSHOLE WAS FAMILIAR!” Jack exclaimed, suddenly appearing beside Rhys with a burst of blue light, “That’s one of the guys who killed me. What a prick.” 

“Do you also know the archer?” Rhys asked quietly. Jack rolled his eyes. 

“He does seem familiar, but nothing is coming to mind. Anyways, if he’s hanging out with that loser he’s probably one of those Flamerock Refuge jerkasses.” 

While Rhys was talking to Jack, Axton and the archer said their goodbyes and left into the night. Fiona turned to Rhys. 

“So, where to now?” she asked “We need to put as much distance between us and Hollow Point as possible, and I’d rather that be in the right direction.” she said. 

“The forest-” rhys said, “We’ll go into the forest and...I’ll need to rest and… listen for answers”

“Lots of trees, good hiding spots- we can make camp there, Fi.” Sasha said. Fiona nodded and the group headed towards the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, for all two of you who read, sorry I've been inactive for a bit. Life got busy. Finals hit, I graduated uni, and then my partner and I were asked to foster two kids under the age of 6. Life's been filled with children's toys and emergencies, so I can't give you an estimate as to when the next chapter will come out, but I can tell you this fic is not abandoned; none of my fics are. IT may be a while between updates but eventually I will finish.


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